LCCN, April 29, 2014 ISSN 2324-6464
International Standard Serial Number to the Rescue! By Regina Romano Reynolds "Can you help me? I have an ISSN emergency!" This strange request is one that the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress really does receive from time to time. Although you might think the International Standard Serial Number is a relic of the print world, ISSN (the acronym is both singular and plural) are more in demand than ever today. In this first part of a two-part series, I'll tell you about the ISSN, its uses, and its users. In the next part, I will share the work of the U.S. ISSN Center, including current activities and projects. I'll also share some of the daily challenges faced by ISSN staff, such as how the need for an ISSN might constitute an emergency in some situations-at least for the person who was supposed to apply for one and forgot to do so. At its essence, ISSN is a unique international identifier for serials and other continuing resources. One of the joys of ISSN work is that it is truly international in scope and thus provides a window into the similarities and differences in serials around the world. Although the U.S. ISSN Center only assigns ISSN to serials published in the U.S. (which is becoming ever more difficult to determine), we interact with many of the 88 national ISSN centers that constitute the worldwide ISSN network. We touch base almost daily with the ISSN International Centre in Paris, the center that directs the activities of the network and is responsible for products such as the ISSN Portal, the subscription database of ISSN records. It has been my privilege as director of the U.S. ISSN Center to represent the U.S. at the annual ISSN directors meeting in places such as Beijing, Ljubljana, Tunis, Canberra, Sarajevo and many world capitals including, of course, Paris. I think of such meetings as a cross between a technical meeting, a family reunion, and a group therapy session as directors discuss proposed new ISSN rules, share complaints and strategies about dealing with publishers, and catch up on news about each other's lives and families. Resources that receive ISSN are as diverse as the ISSN network. In addition to journals, magazines, and annual reports in a variety of tangible and intangible formats, ISSN are also assigned to conference proceedings, newspapers, and integrating resources such as databases, some web sites, and even print loose-leaf services. One of the most challenging parts of ISSN work today is dealing with the myriad of digital serials and other online resources, determining eligibility, how many ISSN to assign, and how to describe resources available only on flash drives or mobile devices, something not well covered by cataloging rules and practices. An exciting new category of continuing resources receiving ISSN is institutional repositories, another area where ISSN catalogers must use their judgment in unfamiliar territory since there are not many examples of records for these kinds of resources. Who uses ISSN, why, and how? I have often called the ISSN "the Social Security number of the serials world." Many serials have similar titles; many serials have confusing titles (where does the title begin or end?); and many serials have titles in languages or scripts unknown to staff or users who may need to find a record in a large database. It is much easier and more accurate to search on a number and it is essential to use a number rather than text in any automated application. ISSN users include publishers and libraries but also subscription agencies that sell packages of serials and knowledge bases such as SFX used by LC for its "Find-It" application. SFX uses OpenURL to connect a user who has a citation to an article to the copy of that article to which his institution subscribes. ISSN is the key component in an OpenURL that identifies the journal. The U.S. Postal Service uses the ISSN to identify publications approved for "periodicals rate" postage and requires that all periodicals with assigned ISSN print the ISSN as their postal ID number. This is the only U.S. legal requirement for printing ISSN even though publishers often think ISSN is a government requirement for all serials. The Copyright Clearance Center and major bookstores all require an ISSN for unique identification of serials in their large databases. Uses for the ISSN are multiplying as old serials are digitized, print issues moved into remote storage, and registries such as the UK's "Keepers Registry" track preserved and archived content. Linked data and the semantic web may well be the future of library metadata. The ISSN, with its worldwide infrastructure and database of over 1.75 million ISSN and metadata records, is well positioned to be a key element for uniquely identifying and linking to and among serials. ISSN was developed in the early 1970s but it is certainly true that if it did not already exist, someone would have to invent it. To be continued with Part 2: The work of the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress.
